MEDINA, Belen T.G., THE FILIPINO FAMILY: A Text With Selected Readings

Abstract

MEDIAN, Belen T.G., THE FILIPINO FAMILY: A Text With Selected Readings. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1992, 272 pp., $22.00 hardcover.Although there have been a number of introductory and general sociology books with a particular focus on the Philippine setting that have been published over the last four decades or so; a comparatively less attention has been given to works dealing with specific substantive area(s) in sociology, to date. Medina's The Filipino Family ... answers the need to fill this apparent gap. Written by an author who is a sociologist and a Filipina herself, the book offers a double advantage of looking at the Filipino from the perspective of an insider.Altogether, this volume contains twelve chapters covering the common subject areas in Family Sociology. Starting off with an introductory chapter on the study of the family, it is followed by two chapters on and kinship; three chapters on courtship, mate selection, love and marriage; three chapters on marital roles, power, decision-making and marital adjustment. There is one chapter each on parenthood and later years. The book ends with a brief chapter on social change and its effects on the contemporary Filipino family.Relying mainly on the works of many scholars, the book essentially provides an overview of existing studies and literature relating both to the in general and to the Filipino in particular. There is an extensive bibliography of studies done by Filipino scholars which, to a large extent, contributed to a truly authentic insight of the Filipino family. Non-Filipino sources primarily deal with materials which are more theoretical in nature, but less of those with relevant empirical evidence.Just like the system in other cultures that is challenged by urbanization and industrialization, the Filipino is confronted with the need to balance itself between continuity and change. Throughout the book the author presents the reader with evidence of continuity as well as change that is taking place in the Filipino family. For example, the persistence of some traditional practices and values such as respect for one's elders, the kumpadre system or ritual co-parenthood, extended emphasis, bilateral kinship structure and the uncontested role of the wife as holder of the purse, are still very much in evidence in Philippine society today. The guerida arrangement characterized by maintaining a second family is believed to be declining due to the increased use of contraceptive measures. The dissemination of Western values through the mass media, the presence of hotels and motels, as well as knowledge of contraception; however, have contributed to the rise of extra-marital affairs. …